


Blind Love

by BaronVonFang



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Angst, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Deserves Better, Mythology - Freeform, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaronVonFang/pseuds/BaronVonFang
Summary: Marinette was an outcast from society. She had lived far away from everyone else almost her entire life. Alone and afraid every day, she felt like no one would ever love herShe was wrong
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Blind Love

The swamp was quiet, as it usually was for the early hours of the morning. The sun had yet to breach the barrier of willow leaves along the horizon, yet life in the swamp had already begun. Worms swam in the green pools of sludge, a bird chirped in the trees, and the wind rustled in the fruit-filled bushes. A hand reaches down to pick the bright blue juniper berries. Small droplets of dew reflected the thin rays of the sun, before falling off the berries’ skin. The hand brought the berry up to a nose, which sniffed curiously. A tongue flicked out to taste the dew, and teeth grazed the fruit’s skin. It tore, causing its juices to flow into the waiting mouth. The flavor was perfect, they were finally ripe. 

Satisfied with this, young Marinette tossed the rest of the berry into her mouth and bent over to pick more from the bush. She tossed them all, one by one into the small wicker basket slung across her arm. She did this until the whole bush was picked clean. She looked up at the tree branch above her to see a small swallow peering down at her. She frowned and went back to picking her food for the day. She searched around for more fruit bushes, being careful of her footing. The swamp was cunning, hiding its puddles in plain sight. If she wasn’t so familiar with the layout of the place, she would’ve fallen face-first into the mud. Fortunately for her, she had lived there her whole life, and as such had a keen sense of where to step. 

The young man who tripped over a root and rolled down a steep ditch was not as fortunate.

Marinette’s ears pricked up, hearing his fall. The basket dropped off her arm as she quickly ducked into a nearby tangle of bushes. The twigs dug into her arms, but she didn’t care. She carefully peered towards the stranger, making sure she wouldn’t be noticed. He was young, probably no older than Marinette herself. His blonde hair would’ve looked lovely had it not been stained with mud and tangled with twigs. His clothes were torn up, and he was gasping out in pain. He cringed as he gripped his side. He sat up in the mud puddle and Marinette could see the dark maroon stain. The distance between them wasn’t too great, but she still had some trouble hearing what he was saying. Something like “it opened up again”. He was wounded.

She wanted to help him. Gods only knew she did, but she was reminded of the warning she was given long ago: “No one is to be trusted, everyone is out to get you”. But her conscience was getting the better of her. Before she even knew what she was doing, Marinette stood up, and slowly started making her way towards him. There was a willow tree a few yards to her right. If she could find cover behind there-

Snap. A twig broke beneath her. Her face grew deathly pale. She could see the man’s face shoot up and away from his wound. He frantically looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Marinette dove back into the bush. 

“W-who’s there?” He asked, voice shaking. It wasn’t out of fear so much as it was a lack of breath. The wound must’ve been worse than Marinette thought. “P-please…if anyone’s there…” He trailed off, a sharp hiss escaping his lips as he tried to stand up. The effort was in vain, and he collapsed to his knees yet again. He rubbed at his eyes and blinked rapidly. Marinette’s head cocked to the side involuntarily. She didn’t notice at first, but his corneas were pale and cloudy, and his pupils were glazed over. He reached for something to steady himself as he tried to stand up again. Unfortunately, the small reed he gripped was not strong enough and snapped beneath his fingers. He fell forward into the mud again. This was when it finally clicked for Marinette: he was blind.

The young woman pursed her lips in thought. Was it possible? Her mind went a mile a minute, thinking over whether or not she could save him. She knew the more she thought about it the less time he would have. Before she could come to a decision, her body started moving toward him. 

The man’s head shot back up and looked around frantically. “Please, if anyone’s there, please help me!” He whimpered. His voice was shaky, his strength waning with each breath. It didn’t take long for Marinette to reach him. Her hand outstretched towards him, but she was still apprehensive. She cleared her throat so he would know she was there. His head swerved in her direction. 

“H-hello?” He gasped. Marinette put a finger to his lips and shushed him.

“You should save your strength.” She said, her voice barely a whisper. She watched as his expression turned from one of panic to relief. 

“Thank the gods you-“ His grateful statement was cut short by a sharp pain in his side. Marinette pulled his hand away to get a better look at the wound. She bit her lip in a sympathetic grimace. The wound was infected from the mud and sludge of the swamp. She quickly moved one of his arms over her shoulder and picked him up, her other arm wrapped around his waist. He was panting heavily now.

“Don’t worry. I’m here to help. Just hold on.” She reassured him, though she wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep that promise. She carried him back toward her home, a humble little hut made from the remains of a large dead tree. Marinette brought him through the door and laid him down on the small cushion in front of her fireplace. She quickly went to fetch a bucket of water from which she would clean his wounds. When she returned with it a few minutes later, she found the young man lying on his side, his injury up in the air. He was moaning in agony. Marinette carefully set the bucket down and moved him onto his back, despite his groan of pain. 

“Keep still,” She told him, “The more you move the worse it’ll get.” She took a piece of cloth and soaked it in the warm water. Ever so slowly, she lifted up the thin cloth shirt the stranger was wearing, revealing his wound. “This will sting a little” She warned him before placing the cloth against his wound. The young man’s head rolled back as he screamed in torment. Marinette’s expression was that of sympathy, knowing full well how much this must’ve hurt. She wiped away the dried blood and mud with the wet cloth, cleaning his injury as best she could. Of course, her guest’s thrashing made things difficult. She placed his hand against the cloth and told him to keep pressure on the wound. He grimaced but did as he was told.

Marinette ran to a nearby basket where she kept special herbs in case of an emergency. She rifled through the various leaves and bushels before finding the herb she was looking for: a small, three-petaled leaf. She took a handful of these herbs to her kitchen where she rolled them into a tight ball before grinding that ball in a mortar and pestle. When she was done, the bundle of herbs had turned into a fine paste. She scooped it up carefully in her palm and rushed back to the young man, but not before grabbing another wet cloth.

Fortunately, he had followed her instructions and kept the cloth pressed to his wound. It was now drenched in his blood. She carefully pulled it aside, wincing as his skin stuck to the cloth, tearing some of it away. The young man grit his teeth, trying to hold back his screams. Marinette reached into her bag, where she pulled out a strap of leather. She told him to open his mouth, placing it between his teeth, and told him to bite down on it.

He did as he was told, tears now streaming from his eyes. Marinette took the cloth and pulled the last part of it away from his wound. She then took the paste from earlier and began rubbing it into his injury. The young man’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm, squeezing like a vice. Marinette gasped, but let him squeeze, knowing the pain would subside very soon.

That it did, as the herbs she had picked out were known for being a strong anesthetic. His hand relaxed and fell limply from her arm. His teeth loosened their grip on the leather, before letting go of it entirely. It dropped from his mouth. The young man’s eyes, useless as they were, slowly opened. If he could see, he would’ve seen Marinette replacing the bloodied cloth with a fresh one. She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and examined him.

The wound wasn’t that bad by itself. Most likely, her guest startled a wild creature and it attacked him, grazing his side. The problem arose from the improper care the wound received. The young man clearly didn’t treat it immediately and didn’t wash it either. Odds were he had been wounded deep in the swamp and hadn’t encountered anyone who could help him. At least, until now.

The young woman let out a sigh of relief. He would live, at least. Whoever he was. Her eyes soon moved from his wound to the rest of his body. He was young, maybe a little older than she was. Fairly fit, with a good layer of muscle and not too much fat. His clothes had seen better days, clearly. They were torn up and filthy. His boots were in desperate need of a cobbler, and his hair was disgusting, caked with a layer of mud and swamp water. Aside from all that, there was the obvious issue of his sight. 

It was clear from one glance that his eyes did not work properly. Aside from the discoloration, there was something…off about them. They didn’t focus on anything, they just stared straight ahead. Though with the foggy pupils it was hard to tell where the eyes were facing. Marinette pursed her lips. Was he entirely blind, or did everything appear blurry to him? She didn’t want to ask him for fear of coming off as rude. Though, the answer should’ve been obvious in hindsight…

She was brought back to the present when her patient let out a small noise. She felt him tugging at her sleeve like a child would his mother. Only now did she realize he was whispering something. Marinette leaned down to hear him better

“Thank…thank you…” he managed to breathe out with some effort. She placed a hand on his forehead, which was covered in sweat.

“You should get some rest,” Marinette replied, “You’ve lost a lot of blood and you’re dehydrated.” After placing a blanket over his body, she got up to fetch him some water. But he was still holding onto her sleeve and managed to pull her back.

“Your name…” he muttered, almost too softly to hear “Tell me…your name?”

A soft smile played on her lips “My name is Marinette. And yours?” Her guest smiled a bit at her voice

“Adrien. Adrien A-“ he paused before he said his full name. He swallowed the lump in his throat “Just Adrien.”

“Well, ‘Just Adrien’” the young woman teased “I’m going to fetch you some water. You should get rest though. You need it.” She gently patted the hand on her sleeve, and he let go. She noticed that he was now smiling just a little, and that made her feel more at ease.

After giving him some water to drink, making sure his head was propped up while he drank, she pulled the blanket over his shoulders, laid one of her extra pillows under his head, and bid him a good rest. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Marinette was a little upset that she couldn’t provide him with something more comfortable, but she knew it was all she had. Satisfied with Adrien’s care, she walked out her door to fetch some more food.

Picking up the wicker basket she dropped, Marinette noticed a peculiar rock next to it. She cocked her head to the side and flipped it over. It was a bird. More specifically, a swallow. She raised her head and noticed she was under the same tree as before. Marinette wiped a tear from her eye. Her chance encounter with Adrien had distracted her from the truth. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t, nor couldn’t be able to help him. The reality was that he was a human, and she was a monster…

Marinette tucked the basket under her arm and moved some hair out of her face. A snake head flicked its tongue along her fingers from atop her head. Its neighbor nipped at it, while another snake yawned, only now waking up. The large nest of snakes writhed and hissed as Marinette wandered over to the next juniper bush, her long serpentine tail dragging a path behind her.

**Author's Note:**

> Btw, I am going to finish the kinktober prompts, I've just been swarmed with homework. Finals are coming up though, so I'll be able to finish them soon. Thank you for your patience!


End file.
